Light within the Darkness
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Yu YuHakusho… though a girl can dream can't she?
Chapter Seven: New Orders
Kagome woke to the sound of someone knocking on her bedroom door. Rolling out of bed, she dragged her tired body across the room and opened the door to see Kurama's smiling face.
"Good morning Kagome. I'm sorry to wake you but I'll be attending a team meeting in a few hours… and since Koenma requires us to protect you, you'll need to come with me." He murmured.
Kagome groaned. "When is the meeting? And where?"
"One o clock, at Yusuke's house."
The miko glanced at her clock on her nightstand. "Wake me up half an hour before we have to go."
"Is that enough time for you to get ready?" he asked quietly, slightly curious of why she seemed so tired.
"I've learned to pack up an entire camp in ten minutes, I think I can manage changing my clothes and brushing my teeth in triple that time." She mumbled before closing her door and returning to her bed.
Kurama stood at her door for a moment before shrugging his shoulders and making his way downstairs. He wasn't sure why Kagome was so tired but if it weren't for his demonic counterpart, he was positive he'd be hanging by a thread by now. He hadn't slept at all last night because Koenma had him help with a spell to take the well's powers. It'd taken them all night to gather the correct items for the spell and actually activate it but it worked. Koenma informed him of the team's new orders and instructed him to update the others.
Once he arrived home early that morning, he called and left a message on Yusuke's communicator to inform him that he planned a team meeting. The meetings were always either at Yusuke's or Genkai's so there wasn't much question of where they needed to be. Considering that the detective and Kuwabara preferred to sleep in on weekends, the avatar set the time for afternoon to give them plenty of time to start their day. Speaking of starting days, his gaze landed on a plate full of waffles on the kitchen counter. Taking a seat beside his step brother, he smiled toward his mother.
"Where's Kagome?" Kokota asked as he shoveled a bite of his breakfast into his mouth.
"Still sleeping. I tried waking her but she said she wanted a few more hours."
"I'm not surprised. She wakes up so early every morning… she's probably exhausted from the week." His mother said as she began washing the dishes she'd used to make breakfast.
"Why does she wake up so early? She never waits for you does she?" Kokota asked.
Kurama shrugged. "I'm not sure, but I think it might have something to do with a coffee shop. She has coffee from the same place every morning."
"Is it that place that serves ice cream too?"
The avatar nodded. "How'd you know?"
"When I gave her a tour around the city, we stopped there for ice cream. Guess she likes the coffee too." The boy grinned. "So what are your plans for the day?"
"Going to Yusuke's house later, Kagome's coming with me."
Kokota pouted. "What if I wanted to spend time with our new sister?"
"She asked if she could come with me. I'm sure she'd like doing something tomorrow." Kurama smiled. He hated lying to his family, especially his brother, but he had no other choice. He'd rather them not know of the monsters that roamed their world.
"I'll ask her when you guys get home from Yusuke's. I'll see you later, I'm off to a friend's house."
Kurama's eyes narrowed playfully. "Weren't you just whining about not being able to spend time with Kagome?"
The boy grinned. "I was just messing with you." He snickered before disappearing from the kitchen.
The avatar rolled his eyes as he continued eating his breakfast. He smiled toward his mother when she placed a glass of orange juice next to his plate before also exiting the kitchen. He glanced toward the clock and sighed. Only twenty minutes passed since he'd spoken with Kagome. What was he going to do until he had to wake her?
Kagome followed Kurama silently as he made his way toward a two story home. She wasn't surprised as the avatar casually opened the door and stepped inside. Loud noises could be heard from deep inside the house and the miko frowned slightly. Continuing to trail behind her step brother, they entered what seemed to be the living room and she allowed her gaze to take in her surroundings. Yusuke and Kuwabara were lounging on a couch playing a video game she remembered Souta often played. The volume of the tv was just as loud as her brother would have it.
"Are you alright?"
The miko glanced beside her to see Kurama staring at her with worry written all over his face. She nodded and smiled slightly before moving toward the couch. Plopping down on the cushions beside Yusuke, she stared at the screen. They were playing a shooting game called 'Call of Duty'. Souta used to play online for hours on end and she'd sometimes play with him even though she was nowhere near as skilled as he was. After playing a few games with him whenever she visited this time, she began to improve and she could remember how proud her little brother was of her. Shaking her head of those thoughts, she focused on the screen.
"Kuwabara, don't you have a spy plane?"
"Using it now!"
"Damnit! This same guy keeps sniping me!"
Kagome watched both their screens and rolled her eyes. Considering they fought demons and were so alert out in the field, it was funny how slow they were to react to an enemy that appeared on their screen. "Two to your left." She muttered.
Yusuke glanced toward her for a split second before he was killed by the players she'd pointed out. "Damnit!"
"Kuwabara, check behind you."
"How'd he even get there?!" the tall human complained after being shot down.
Kagome rolled her eyes. "You two suck at this game."
"Oh yea? I'd like to see you do better." Yusuke snorted as the round ended. Kagome shrugged and took the controller from him. While they waited for the new match to start, the miko decided to rearrange the gun classes to her likings. She was much better with semiautomatic guns that had less kick and were quick to reload. She held back her smirk when she caught the surprised looks on both Kuwabara and Yusuke's faces. She couldn't see Kurama from where she was sitting but she was sure he was staring at her curiously. Once the match was about to begin, she stretched and leaned back against the couch.
Her screen was loading on the left as Kuwabara was choosing his gun class to use on the right. The game began and Kagome directed her shooter in the opposite direction the rest of the team rushed off to. She'd played this map many times before with Souta. The enemy team always started in the direction her team headed BUT there was a vantage point in the direction she went that she could see the entire enemy team from. If she wasn't too rusty with her shooting skills, she should be able to kill almost the entire team within the first two minutes of the game.
"What the hell?" Yusuke muttered as he watched Kagome shoot down 6 of the 8 players on the enemy team.
A small smile graced her lips as she focused her attention on the game. By the time the match was over, she had the most kills and least deaths of her team. Tossing the controller into Yusuke's lap, she smirked. "You just got outplayed by a girl."
All three detectives were staring at her with surprise written all over their faces. "Where'd you learn to play so well?" Kuwabara asked quietly.
Her gaze fell away from them and she frowned slightly. "My little brother used to play with me all the time…"
Silence filled the room until Kurama's communicator began to ring. Excusing himself, he stepped into the hallway to answer the call. He returned moments later just as a portal appeared beside him. "I'll be right back, have to pick up something from Koenma." He stated before disappearing through the black void.
Yusuke focused his gaze back onto Kagome and rested his hand on her thigh. "I'm sorry."
She forced a smile and shook her head. "I'm fine."
"Why is there a meeting today?"
Everyone turned to see Hiei standing at the doorway with his usual scowl. Kuwabara shrugged his shoulders.
"Not sure yet, Kurama should be back any minute. He had to make a run to Koenma's" Yusuke explained.
"What is she doing here." Hiei questioned, glaring toward Kagome.
The miko snorted. "I go where I want, when I want."
The hybrid's glare intensified. "Do not think that you are safe just because you are related to the fox."
"Even if I wasn't under protection according to orders from your boss, I still wouldn't be scared of your petty threats."
Hiei growled in irritation as he reached for his katana.
"Hey man, none of that in my house!" Yusuke yelled as he stood from his seat. Just as Hiei unsheathed his blade, he stopped in his tracks. A blue hue began to seep from the woman's skin as she released her power. Glaring toward him, she stood as well. Yusuke could feel the hairs on his arms stand on end as her aura flooded the house. She was a lot more powerful than he first expected. Glancing toward Hiei, he could see the surprise on his face.
"Did I forget to mention she's a miko?" Yusuke laughed nervously.
"A powerful one…" Kuwabara muttered as he too stared at the power radiating from her.
A portal appeared in the living room and Kurama stepped out only to freeze where he stood. "What's going on?"
Kagome pulled her power back and turned her gaze to Kurama. "Nothing to worry about. What did Koenma need?"
The avatar shrugged off the tenseness that suffocated the room and pulled a necklace from his pocket. Tossing it to her, he smiled at the confusion that filled her eyes. "I'll explain the details later but that necklace now has the power of the well."
Her eyes widened slightly as she met his gaze. "He did it?"
"You doubted him?"
She merely nodded.
Rolling his eyes, he turned to his teammates. "We have new orders."
"Kill the miko?" Hiei spat, glaring at her once more.
Yusuke laughed. "Like you could! She'd turn you to dust before you could blink. Hell, you know she's quick enough to counter your attacks, you're basically a baby in a trench coat compared to her!"
Hiei's glare redirected to the detective. "Perhaps I'll kill you as well."
"Enough. Kagome will be resuming her mission. We are to protect her during the time she's here." Kurama explained.
"What does that mean?" Kuwabara asked in confusion.
"Her mission takes her to other locations, but she will be returning home frequently so our family doesn't suspect anything. We are to keep her safe when she's here."
"So will you be missing school?" Yusuke asked as he turned to her.
She nodded. "Everyday most likely. It's the only time I can be away from home for several hours."
"Where do you have to go for your mission?" Kuwabara asked.
"That's not something you need to worry about." She answered as she made her way toward the hallway. "Are we done here Kurama?"
The avatar nodded before smiling toward his team. "See you at school on Monday." He said before following his step sister out the door.
Staring down at the necklace in her hand, Kagome waited for Kurama to join her outside Yusuke's house. It was a plain piece of jewelry, a simple silver chain with a gold rose pendant attached. Turning when she heard the door close, she fell into step beside the avatar. She waited until they were a decent distance away from Yusuke's house before letting loose her curiosity. "So how'd he do it?"
"He found a spell that could be used to take the power of an object and transfer it onto another entity. He and Botan relocated the well's power into that necklace and I reinforced the chain with an unbreakable vine to eliminate the possibility of losing the time traveling power. I'm sure you were aware that if the well was ever destroyed that you would be trapped in whichever time you were in. Same concept would have applied to the necklace so I wanted to make certain that accident couldn't occur."
Kagome nodded. "Thank you… So how does it work?"
"According to Koenma, all you need is to jolt it with your energy and the power will teleport you. But I must warn you. If you lose the necklace, anyone that knows how to use it can teleport through time." He explained.
"Ok, so don't lose the necklace. Got it. Anything else?"
"Only the individual wearing the necklace can pass through the portal. So Inuyasha won't be able to come and go through this time as he pleases."
She sighed heavily. "He's not going to be happy about that…"
"Indeed but this way you can be in the past everyday. You just need to return at night so no one here realizes your gone"
"Ok another question… where exactly will it teleport me?"
Kurama reached into his pocket once more and handed her a bracelet as well as a small folded piece of paper. "The first time you teleport, it will take you to the well in the feudal era. Use the chant on that paper and the power of your necklace will make a connection to the bracelet. Give it to one of your traveling companions and you will teleport wherever the bracelet is."
Kagome grinned. "Awesome… so we can travel and I won't have to go back and forth to the well. That's convenient."
Her step brother nodded. "Knew you'd enjoy that part."
"Thank you Kurama, this means a lot to me." She murmured as she clasped the necklace around her neck and shoved the bracelet and piece of paper in her pocket.
"Anything to help Kagome, you're part of my family now. And although I haven't known you for as long, I feel closer to you than father and mother because you know and understand our lifestyle. I can never tell them what I do for a living or what I really am… but I can talk to you about it."
Kagome nodded. "I know what you mean. My family knew the basics but I could never tell them everything. My mother would've had a heart attack if she knew just how much danger I faced on a daily basis."
Kurama sighed. "That actually worries me. My memories from my time as Youko remind me of how dangerous it was all those years ago. I know you can protect yourself quite well but who exactly do you travel with?"
"A hanyou, one of the last taijyai and her neko companion, a monk, and a kitsune kit. As Koenma told you before, I learned how to fight from Sango and Miroku and Inuyasha is more than powerful enough to take care of everyone."
"Then why did the slayer and monk train you?"
Kagome sighed. "Because I was sick of being the weakness of the group. The soft spot. And I wanted to be able to protect Shippo, the kit. He's like a son to me."
He nodded. "Alright. Please be careful. I don't like that there's no way for us to help if you're in trouble… or to even know if you're in danger."
The miko smiled softly. "I'll be fine, don't worry." She said as their home came into view. Glancing up toward the sky, she groaned. It wasn't dark yet and that meant her father hadn't left for work yet.
Kurama glanced toward her from the corner of his eye. He knew she wasn't looking forward to seeing their father. "You could go to the feudal era now… I could tell them you decided to sleep at a friend's house for the night."
A smile crept its way across her face and Kurama jumped slightly when she suddenly hugged him. "Thank you!" She squealed before running ahead of him and disappearing behind the house. She was probably going to sneak into her room from the outside so no one knew she was home. He couldn't help the laugh that escaped him as he shook his head. Kagome was opening up to him more every day. He knew it wouldn't be long before she trusted him completely. He'd actually been surprised she told him about her traveling companions. Tuning his senses toward him home, he could hear Kagome rummaging through her closet for supplies. Rolling his eyes, he entered the house and went straight to his room. Collapsing down on his bed, he reached for the new silver chain that hung around his neck loosely. His silver chain worked the same as the bracelet he instructed Kagome to give to one of her companions. He felt slight comfort knowing that whenever his step sister returned to this time, she would appear near him no matter where he was.
Kagome quickly stuffed a few items into her yellow backpack before tossing it over her shoulder. Touching the pendant softly, she glanced around her room to make sure she wasn't forgetting anything. Shrugging, the miko took a deep breath before pushing her powers into the necklace. A soft blue glow engulfed the rose shaped pendant and a gasp escaped her before the miko suddenly disappeared.
A/N:
Kagome is finally going back to the feudal era! Wonder how Inuyasha will react when he finds out about her family. Tell me what you think so far! R&R please :)
~*Icyfire*~
